So You Want to Visit Tokyo?

akihabaraSo, you’ve been thinking about visiting the capital of Japan? That’s awesome! Tokyo is one of the coolest cities around, filled with highly technological marvels and sporting an amazing infrastructure. No matter what you want to do, I can assure you that Tokyo has what you’re looking for! If you want to indulge in a bit of history, then there’s plenty of temples, shrines and castles to contrast the otherwise highly technological city. There’s also lots of markets and other tourist attractions, so it’s a pretty safe bet to say that Tokyo is just one of those cities which has everything for everyone.

In case you’re interested in visiting a casino or something along those lines, I’m afraid I’ve got some pretty bad news for you – gambling is entirely illegal in Japan, and that obviously includes Tokyo. So make sure you play all the roulette and slots that you need before your plane departs! When it comes to gambling, there’s actually a bit of a trick that the Japanese use to get around the limitations. I’m talking, of course, about Pachinko machines. For those of you who don’t know, a Pachinko machine is more or less the Japanese version of a slot machine. A ball falls from the top of the machine, and it’s your job to manipulate it subtly and hope that it falls into one of the winning pockets. Since it’s technically classified as a videogame, it allows you to win prizes which you can later sell for money at a store close by.

Speaking of videogames, though, if you love these you’re going to have one hell of a time in Tokyo! As you may know, Japan is pretty much the mecca of videogames, and you can certainly see that when you visit its capital, which is chock-full of arcades and videogame stores! Remember – Japanese arcades are nothing like Western ones! Forget about the sticks and buttons, here you’re going to see all kinds of weird things, such as a game where you need to angrily flip a table (complete with a table controller) or a game where you punch a dinosaur straight in the face!

A lot of the videogame stores are located in the district known as Akihabara. Remember how I said that Japan was the mecca of videogames? Well, think of Akihabara as the mecca of all geeky things. Anime, manga, cosplay cafes, you name it, and it’s all here! You can buy figures of your favorite characters or replicas of weapons from your favorite anime series (though I wouldn’t do that if I were you – the plane ride back home would be a nightmare!) Or you can be like me and buy a dakimakura, or a body-sized pillow adorned with an anime character. I have my needs, okay?! And if all of that fails, well… There’s always Disneyland?